Friday, March 6, 2009

a nice cup of tea

december 14~

a couple of weeks later i met up with youngmin again in seoul, in haehwa, my favorite district. she took me to a cozy, old-fashioned mandoo (dumpling) restaurant which was perfect for a cold winter day. this is in the north part of seoul, where the buildings, businesses, and community have a long history. after lunch, we went wandering around, looking for a gallery youngmin remembered lucked away on one of the hillsides. when we found it, it was closed, but i took a couple pictures of the surroundings.

while we were walking around, we noticed on hilltops above us the seoul fortress wall stretching like lace along the ridgeline. curious to explore it more closely, we found a way up to it.

upon reaching the top, a view of the buildings below became visible. it had become late afternoon, and the sun's golden glow blanketed the faded, scattered rooftops. the scene was uncommonly comforting...

eventually, the late afternoon air became cooler as the day turned into evening. youngmin had one last surprise: a traditional tea house hidden behind a stone wall. i never would have noticed it if i had walked right by it. the place served many interesting asian teas and herbal drinks. it was a magical place. youngmin never fails to introduce the best parts of seoul to me :)

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welcome

these are my thoughts and experiences as i attempt to explore the challenge of living in asia. though i may never be able to entirely escape the filter of my own perspective, i do what i can to reach beyond the boundaries placed around the English-teaching foreigner. come with me...